The team boss of Kawasaki Puccetti Racing discusses the season up to the summer break
Kenan Sofuoglu and Kawasaki Puccetti Racing came into 2016 as defending Champions in WorldSSP, but there was one key difference as the lights went out for the new season: the guy next door. Randy Krummenacher, former 125 and Moto2 rider, joined the team from Moto2 and immediately got to grips with the WorldSSP category, with the Swiss rider winning the first Race of the season in Phillip Island – a first for him, a first for Switzerland, and making himself into only the sixth rider in history to have won his first Race. Partnered with the most-successful rider of all time in WorldSSP, the duo have been frontrunners since that first weekend of the year. Manuel Puccetti talked to WorldSBK.com about the reigning Champion, the Swiss rookie, and the San Carlo Team Italia bikes that the team also field in the FIM Europe Supersport Cup.
“It’s been a great season so far,” says Puccetti. “We knew that Kenan was the king of the category but no one thought Randy would be so fast, so I’m so happy that we have both of our bikes in front – always or very often – and I hope it can continue like this!”
The team in green have more often than not been the pacesetters and enjoyed the podium Prosecco, so how is it having the two riders fight week in, week out?
“Kenan has a lot of pressure from inside the box and that helps a lot – we can push each other and we want to keep doing that. And Randy says he’s very happy here. He feels very good on the bike and compared to Moto2 it’s heavier, but he prefers the tyres. He’s very happy with the crew chief and the team as well. It’s not easy having two riders who can win but I like it because they both want to win and both have the package to win – they can fight until the end of the season.”
The teammates are at the top of the title standings, as they have been for most of the season, and with four Rounds left the team seems to be enjoying a good position. But that’s not the only involvement Puccetti have in WorldSSP, as the team also run the San Carlo Team Italia outfit in the ESS, with Axel Bassani and Alessandro Zaccone – who are also 1-2 in the points standings of their category.
“Zaccone and Bassani are very good talents and very good guys,” says Puccetti of the younger generation. “We’ve given them the same bikes as Kenan and Randy so it’s a very good package and with the talent they have they can do a very good job. They have a bit of an easier time than other European Supersport riders because they can look at the data of Kenan and Randy, but it’s not easy to stay in front.”
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